As a child, New York City native Alexa Hirschfeld spent a lot of time exploring online and learning about technology, while her younger brother James collected stamps and coins and created artwork. In 2009, the siblings, both Harvard grads, combined their interests and launched the start-up Paperless Post, which has raised $37 million in financing and produced 200 million–plus virtual and paper-stock cards. These days, Alexa, 33, who caught the travel bug early—her first job was working on an edition of Let's Go Greece—lives in New York's East Village and heads out of the country whenever possible, most recently spending two weeks in Peru with her London-based boyfriend.

The Lima restaurant Rafael and its grilled octopus

Viniios Barros + Hans Stoll

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LIMA

"It was all about eating," Hirsch- feld says about the couple's time in the seaside capital. Their first stop was Canta Rana, a casual lunch spot with some of the best ceviche in the city and great people-watching. "Go at 1 p.m. and you'll see Lima's young, cool, hipster society," she says. More-formal options include the Japanese-Peruvian fusion restaurant Osaka, and Rafael, a white-tablecloth establishment with a memorably delicious pisco sour. (For the truly upscale, there's Central, a sleek spot with artful food that is frequently referred to as the best restaurant in Latin America; its 11-course tasting menu is $107 per person.) In between noshes, the couple visited the Museo Mario Testino, established by the Peruvian photographer in 2012 to showcase the country's art and culture, and spent a few leisurely hours on Punta Hermosa, a picturesque curve of surfer-friendly beach about an hour's drive from the city center.

SACRED VALLEY

From Lima, they headed to Cusco, perched in the Andes at 11,152 feet (the trip takes a little over an hour by plane but a whopping 19 hours by car). Once the capital of the Incan empire, it's now filled with such an impressive mix of pre-Columbian and colonial architecture that it's been named a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it boasts a number of richly appointed hotels (including the luxurious Belmond Hotel Monasterio, situated in a monastery built in 1592) to accommodate the crowds who flock here.

The luxurious Belmond Hotel Monasterio

Belmond

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The couple used the city as a base to explore the surrounding Sacred Valley, hiring a driver to take them to Pisac, a village with a large market offering up locally produced jewelry and textiles, and to Chinchero, where Hirschfeld bought baby-alpaca blankets and the pair visited a colonial-era church in which Catholic imagery mixes with Incan motifs. They also traveled to Machu Picchu by Inca Rail, a four-hour journey that winds through the jungle.

Machu Picchu

Getty Images

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AREQUIPA

While in Arequipa, their final stop in the Andes and the second-biggest city in the country, they dined at Chicha, a stone-walled restaurant run by Gastón Acurio, the country's most famous chef. (Hirschfeld recommends the rocoto relleno—a Peruvian stuffed pepper.) Finally, they took a day trip to Colca Canyon, which is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon and offers a chance to observe condors, with their nine-foot wingspans, flying at close range. All in all, not a bad way to spend two weeks, Hirschfeld says. "There's this French expression," she says, "where you say something is good—then add, 'But it's not Peru.'"

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